BILL NUMBER: ACR 184	CHAPTERED  09/18/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   149
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 18, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 1, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 31, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 29, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 25, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Hertzberg and Gallegos
   (Principal coauthor:  Senator Burton)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Calderon,
Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Davis, Ducheny, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Havice, Honda, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl,
Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano,
Papan, Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg, Strom-Martin,
Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne,
Wiggins, Wildman, and Wright)

                        AUGUST 23, 2000

   Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 184--Relative to Demonstration
Projects under the State Children's Health Insurance Program.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 184, Hertzberg.  Demonstration Projects under the State
Children's Health Insurance Program.
   This measure would urge the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board
to apply for a demonstration project under the State Children's
Health Insurance Program.




   WHEREAS, In 1997, Congress established the State Children's Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP) to provide health coverage to low income,
uninsured children meeting certain eligibility criteria; and
   WHEREAS, California implemented the SCHIP with the enactment of
the Healthy Families Program (Chapter 623, Statutes of 1997) and
eligibility expansions under the Medi-Cal Program (Chapters 624 and
626, Statutes of 1997).  Together, these programs provide health
coverage to children with family incomes of up to 250 percent of the
federal poverty level; and
   WHEREAS, The Healthy Families program has enrolled over 330,000
children; and
   WHEREAS, Many of the parents of children enrolled in Healthy
Families and Medi-Cal do not have health coverage; and
   WHEREAS, The federal Department of Health and Human Services
issued a guidance letter on July 31, 2000, which allows states to
conduct demonstration projects under the SCHIP; and
   WHEREAS, The letter authorizes projects that, among other things,
provide coverage for parents of children enrolled in SCHIP and fund
public health initiatives serving all low-income children; and
   WHEREAS, California has lower rates of job-based insurance and
higher uninsured rates than the rest of the United States and the
percentage of uninsured persons in California has been increasing
over time; and
   WHEREAS, One-third of Californians without health coverage report
that they did not seek medical care when they needed it because of
the cost, that the uninsured have poorer health status than those
with coverage, and that the uninsured have significantly lower rates
of receiving recommended preventative care than those with coverage;
and
   WHEREAS, The federal government would contribute two-thirds of the
cost of coverage under the demonstration projects; and
   WHEREAS, Most states, including California, are not projected to
spend the full amount of their federal allocation for the SCHIP on
coverage of eligible uninsured children; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature urges the Managed Risk
Medical Insurance Board to apply for a demonstration project under
the SCHIP by October 15, 2000, and that the application at least
include a proposal for covering parents of children enrolled in
California's SCHIP and a proposal for public health initiatives
providing services to all low-income children; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board prepare
the demonstration project proposal in consultation with the State
Department of Health Services; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit a suitably
prepared copy of this resolution to the author for appropriate
distribution.
